Enemas?

[Chinster]

Has anyone requested an enema before birth? I think I would prefer to have one...but don't really know what it involves? Anyone have any info? :confused:

I REALLy would like to avoid pooing during labour (although I know it's common/the nurses and doctors are used to it etc etc)

[nemosmum]

I dont think they offer them any more.....but I could be wrong. Its not a very nice thing to do while in labour I know, but to be honest I cant remember doing it (but DH does :eek: ) I know, I know very embarassing but to be completely honest you dont really care when your in the midst of labour LOL I didnt even know it had happened until 6 or 7 weeks after labour, Dh and I were reminising the happy event and he let it slip!!!!. Its afterwards that the embarassments sets in :p .

[jamb]

I would not even worry about it. I pooed for over 2 hours, it was every where (sorry if TMI) but I honestly do not even care that I did- least of my worries compared to the pain. Not to mention the litres of fluid/blood that gushed out of me for over 6 hours! I was just giving pushing the very best i could and even then it didnt help- bub was vacuumed out, so all my poop was for nada! Oh the joy of birth :p

[sopolicha]

I am so glad I have only had caeserians!!!!!

[jlrjyeboah]

I don't remember if I did or not during my labor, and as hubby doesn't go near the business end, he couldn't tell me either.

You can get an enema from the chemist, I have used one a couple of times during this pregnancy due to being extremely constipated. Its basically a small tute of cream with an applicator at the top. You snap the top off, insert to the line and squeeze(sorry if TMI). It costs about $3 from the chemist and you even get a rubber glove. I was told it can bring on labor if used later in your pregnancy, but as you are already overdue that shouldn't be an issue.

Hope this helps. :)

[JanetF]

Hospitals stopped doing them because they serve no purpose and only make women uncomfortable. Once you're in a beautiful labour trance it's the last thing you'll be aware of. Birthing in water is great for poo because a quick swipe with a sieve and it's all gone!

[Maghan]

JanetF, you're great, you can even put dignity in poo. Thank you!

[JanetF]

LOL@Maghan. It's just one of the mysteries in life so it's nothing to freak over, right?
:D

[Kamaikia]

Sorry to be gross but I found when my waters broke I must have pooed 3 or 4 times within an hour - labour shocked the **** outta me :D

[JanetF]

That's not gross! Gross would be washing in it ;) Pooing is a normal bodily function which sometimes happens when a baby presses past your rectum into the world. Lovely ;)

If not lovely, just normal and fine :D

[melfunction]

I had an enema 2 days before giving birth because I hadn't gone for 3 days. It worked fine, but I continued to poo for 3 days!!! During my relatively short labour, I pooed 3 times in the shower (was in shower for half an hour), and the last one (sorry TMI) was huge and just as my best friend opened the bathroom door to see if we needed a warm towel :o . The look on her face was priceless. We still laugh about it now.

[talon]

i was really worried about pooing while in labour. i have a work colleague who goes to the chemist and buys one just before her due date. I couldn't bring myself to try it though (like the castor oil as well).

once i got into the delivery room and was pushing to my hearts content it was the last thing on my mind :D . I didn't believe the "you won't care once you are in labour" story until it happened to me... and sure enough - i didn't care. :rolleyes:

the midwives are all very professional and have seen it a thousand times before. i reckon they don't even tell you if you have "let loose" - what would be the point?

some people just don't want to have pooing as another thing to be stressed about in labour though - completely understandable.

[aardvark]

I honestly think, from personal experience, that by the time labour has progressed to the point where the head is descending (which is when the issue arises), it's the last thing you would be worried about.

Midwives literally deal with it every day.

Once you check into the hospital in labour, you have to leave your inhibitions at the door..........

[veve]

hey :)

we were told in prenatal that our hospital 'offers' one to the women who come in ... under no circumstances are you forced to take it - but they do offer it to you when you arrive...

dont know what they do at other hospitals though ..

(working in special ed... enemas dont bother me... they are part of daily life!!!- it was rather interesting watching the faces of other people in the class though!)

xxxxxx

[terri]

hmmm...
I have a bit over a month to go and i guess sh*tting myself (so to speak) has never really crossed my mind and it's going to be my mum aunty n friend with me so if i do i guess we'll all have a giggle bout it later but at that time they're there to support me not laugh at me sh*tting myself......? :confused:

im more worried about heamoraging (not sure on spelling) as both my aunty and my mother had this happen (though with my mum it was her 4th child and my aunties daughters placenta was abnormal)

but anyway i better go and finish my nursery as I've been happily doing that all day

Terri 15
Jacob Xander Luke due Nov 27

[DoulaFelicity]

The majority of hospitals no longer perform enemas as part of labour (it has been relegated to the relics of labouring in a time gone by, along with compulsory shaving of pubic hair, men being forced to wait outside the birthing room, and being confined to your back in stirrups to birth). Having said that, some hospitals will do an enema in early labour if you specifically request it, or you can simply purchase one yourself from the chemist and DIY at home beforehand, if you absolutely feel you must have an enema.

Often, in the very early stages of labour, your body will repeatedly evacuate (ie: you'll need to run to the toilet and poo a lot ;) ), as a natural way of purging and preparing itself for the impending work. This means that there won't be much left in there to come out anyway; and if/when it does (usually in second stage, pushing, when the baby's head moving down the vagina simply pushes everything around it out of its way, which is why poo gets pushed out; the vagina and anus are separated by a very thin wall of skin), you won't even know it's happening. A midwife will wipe it away without comment (it is, after all, just one of many bodily releases during labour) and birth continues uninterrupted. I didn't even know if I'd done it or not; I asked my doula afterwards. :) She said yes, a tiny bit, and it was cleaned up without anyone caring. At the time, I was deep in the labour zone, roaring my baby out. A horde of screaming demons could have erupted from my nether regions and I wouldn't have noticed.

You may also wish to consider whether you would rather it happen naturally and in regular form; or whether you'd like a constant trickle of runny, uncontrollable poo running from you (which is the usual result of an enema) whilst you're labouring. :p An enema doesn't mean you won't poo during labour.

Labour is all about letting go. Our bodies release mucous, amniotic fluid, blood, faeces, urine, bile, vomit, we cry out tears, we release energy through vocalisations and sweat, and eventually, the biggest release of all; our baby is born. All the release and letting go in labour is primal, powerful, and beautiful. Don't worry about it, don't be ashamed, don't be embarrassed; be proud. It's all part of the sublime magic act you're performing by creating, carrying, nurturing, and bringing into the world the life you've begun.

Best wishes for a beautiful birth!

Cheers,

[pregasaurus]

I've had 2 kids and honestly couldn't tell you if I'd pooed during either of them. No one tells you if you do or not and I never thought to ask!

[majecb]

When my husband and I arrived at the hospital my doctor told us that I would be shaved and getting an enema, I tried to refuse it, but doctor explained that it would help preventing soiling while pushing and also increasing the force of my contractions, my husband said that I had to get it, so I had no option but to take the enema, but you can't imagine how embarrassed and humilliated I felt and I had my husband watching the entire procedure.

[StrawberryTheMilkshake]

um... they forced you? Thats not right!
I didnt have an enema but i did poo myself- in the end my ob said "your pushing down in the wrong way- try and focus on different parts of your body" and it worked. At one stage i noticed the middy walking from the bed with something "wrapped" on one of those bed protector mats- and it went straight into the waste bin thing.
I knew i had done it but i didnt really care- i just wanted my baby out!!!

[WeloveHarriet]

When my husband and I arrived at the hospital my doctor told us that I would be shaved and getting an enema, I tried to refuse it, but doctor explained that it would help preventing soiling while pushing and also increasing the force of my contractions, my husband said that I had to get it, so I had no option but to take the enema, but you can't imagine how embarrassed and humilliated I felt and I had my husband watching the entire procedure.

Wow - when and where was this done at? I haven't heard of any one being shaved or being made have an enema for at least 20yrs.

Wouldn't have a clue if I did during DD's birth and DH didn't go anywhere near that end of the bed so he wouldn't know either. DS's birth was an emergency c-section so didn't poo during that!

[cornflakegirl]

I have no idea if a pooed or not and I don't really care! I have never asked my husband nor did I notice anything from the midwives. As others have said it's a normal, natural bodily function and a very normal part of labour.

You may vomit in labour too - I did but nobody gives you anything to prevent that "just in case" or tells you to stop eating "just in case".

Just relax and let your body do what it is designed to do!!! You are woman you can do anything!!!

[MordecaiAliVanAllenO'Shea]

I pooed when I was pushing but I didnt even know I had until a couple of weeks after the birth when I suddenly thought to ask DH who had been down the business end. I said "hey, I didnt poo did I?" and he said "do you need to know anyway?" so I was like "that means I did!!" and he said "yeah, you did." I asked him why he hadnt told me before and he said I hadnt asked and he didnt think it was important and didnt want me to feel embarassed about it. At the time there was absolutely no indication from the midwives or ob or DH that I had, DH said the midwife just quickly cleaned it away.

[EloiseT]

:fingerscrossed: Believe me, you will have no idea if you poo or not and trust me, you will not care one little bit. I know its hard to imagine if this is your first bub but there is no way yoou will be thinking about it or care. With my 1st son I asked the midwife if people poo as I was really worried. She said almost everyone does because you use the same muscles to push out the bub.:confused:
Eloise

[DJWebb]

Ive never had an enema, dont ever want to either!
I pushed 3 babies out and never pooed during delivery not once! I asked haha

[OJandMe]

I didn't...

but like you, I was so caught up in the 'poo' thing I thought Gabby was a poo!! (before he crowned)

[youngones]

I did one while pushing too! However, I was aware of it, as my MW cleaned it up :D while I was trying to push the monkey out. I was actually really relieved, as I normally have very high iron levels and found that taking a preg supplement made me really constipated!

In my mother's day, enemas were given routine to all women in early labour and my mother said it was pure torture and absolutely the last thing she wanted to be hobbling off to the toilet for while contracting. That was the beginning of an era where birthing was seen to be an inconvenience, rather than the amazing part of life that it is. Unfortunately, there are still some people out there who still think labouring women are an inconvenience...

We are so much more in touch with reality and far more civilised these days - a bit of poo is nothing!! You'll be wiping up so much of it over the next few years I doubt it will faze you at all :laughing: !!

[honeydew]

I haven't heard of anyone who has had an enema (except my mum but that was YEARS ago).

I had no idea I poo'd during labour although my DH swears that I did. Honestly, when you are in the pushing stage of labour you have just been through the transition part and you really won't be aware of little details like a bit of poo. The only thing you will be focused on is breathing and pushing and everything else won't matter. Going by everyone's responses in this thread I would say it is fairly common to poo in labour and not one person here has said that they cared.

[pigglet]

I had one, it was just one less thing to worry about call me a prude but I would do it again! Just ask the nurse for one when u go in and she will give it to you to do, its just like the chemist ones, microlax I think its called.

[Myztik]

I dont think I poo'd with ds1 but I know I did with DS2.. I was more worried about the fact that I'd vomited in my hair LOL.